Air lubricated thrust bearing



Dec. 26, 1950 J. A. RAWLINS AIR LUBRICATED THRUST BEARING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Oct. 5, 1945 IN YEN TOR E'PH A. EA WA INS ATTORNEY Dec. 26, 1950 J. A. RAWLINS 2,535,454

AIR LUBRICATED THRUST BEARING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Oct. 5, 1945 INVENTOR Jo PHA. RAwu/vs TTORNEY Patented Dec. 26, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,535,454 AIR? LUBRICATED rnaus'r BEARING Joseph Rawlins, Tenafly, N. J., assignor to The Sperry Corporation, a corporation of Dela- 2" Claims.

This invention relates to gas lubricated bearings' and more particularly to bearings which are lubricated by air or other gas under a pressure developed by relative movement of the bearing parts.

This application is a division of my co-pending a plication Serial No. 620.523, filed October 1945, now Patent 2,511543, dated June 13, 1950. for Gas Lubricated Bearing.

object of the invention is to provide a hearing of the above type having novel" and improved operating characteristics.

Another object is to provide a bearing having extremely small clearance for accurately positioning the rotating shaft.

Another object is to provide a bearing for high speed spindles which absorbs a minimum amount of power.

Various other objects and advantages will be ap arent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed. I

The present. invention is particularly applicable tospi'ndles for high speed tools such as small diameter grinding wheels which may operate at speeds of the order of 50,000 R. P. M. The bearin'g' may have? a clearance of the order of .0001 inch so as toposition the tool accurately and cause it to operate" without wabble" or side play.

It has been found that bearings of' the above type have a tendency to bind after'an interval of'tim'e'. may be dueto fine particles'which are drawn in" with the airand become: wedged between the bearing surfaces or may be due to other causes; The" present invention overcomes this difiiculty and provides a hearing, which is' capable of operating indefinitely without binding or undue increase in temperature.

Although the novelieatures which arebelieved to be characteristic ofthis invention are pointed out more particularly in the claims appended hereto, the invention itself may be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings inwhich specific embodiments thereof have been set forthfor purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of an air-lubricated spindle embodyingthe present invention;

Fig. 2 is aside elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; V

Fig 4 is a top plan: view of the air-lubricated. spindle with parts broken away to show the construction. thereof;

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the support of the thrust bearing;

Fig. 6' is an exploded view of parts of the'thrust bearing support.

Referring to the drawings, the invention is shown as applied to a spindle l0 carrying a tool, shown as a grinding disc I I, mounted on a shank l2 which is secured to the spindle l0 by suitable means shown as a set screw 5. The spindle I0 is provided with an enlarged cylindrical bearing section I4 which is journalled in bearing surfaces 15 and. H5 formed in upper and lower bearing blocks l1 and [8, respectively;

The lower bearing block l8 constitutes a fixed support and is mounted by any suitable means not shown' The upper bearing block I! is accurately positioned transversely of the lower bearing block ('8 between clips 59. Studs. 20 are secured in the lower bearing block l8 and extend through holes in the upper bearing block IT so as to position the upper bearing block axially relative to the lower block and to allow vertical movement of theupper block.v The upper'bearing block I! is yieldably held against the lower bearing block l8 by means of slotted leaf springs H which engage grooves 22 in the studs 20.

The bearing blocks I? and it are formed with cylindrical chambers 25 extending axially of the blocks between the bearing surfaces [5 and It. The radius of the chambers 25 is such as to provide substantial clearance for the bearing section [4 of the spindle. Horizontal slots 25, formed half and half in the two bearing blocks, extend from the chambers 25 to the outside of the blocks between shoulders" 21. The shoulders 21- form the contacting surfaces for the two bearing blocks and are accurately finished to determine the minimum bearing clearance. The clearance between the bearing section H1 and the bearing surfaces is and I e is of the order of .0001 inch when the shoulders 21: are in contact. This clearance, however, is permitted to be in creased by separating the bearing blocks [l and id'against the pressure of the springs 25.

Axial channels 2% (Fig. l) are formed half and half in the bearing blocks IT and I8 along the parting line so that the bearing surfaces I5 and I6 are removed for a short distance each side of the parting line.

The spindle Kl is shown as rotated by an air turbine comprising a rotor at enclosed in a housing 3| and having suitable driving vanes 32. The housing 3! includes an air chamber 33 and admission ports 34 by which air is supplied to the vanes 32 in the. usual manner for causing.

rotation of the rotor. The rotor 36 is mounted upon an extension 35 of the spindle ls which is of reduced section, and is frictionally held against the enlarged bearing section M by means of a spring An annular sleeve is mounted on the extension 35 of the spindle and has an annular rim 3% of the same diameter as ti: bearing section M. Air is discharged from the turbine through openings 39 formed in the housing 3! around the rim 3% and around the bearing section I l. Baffle plates 25 are spaced from the two sides of the housing 3! in a manner to control the exhaust air pressure on the two sides of the rotor.

An end thrust bearing is formed by a disc 45 which is attached to the end of the extension 35 by means of a screw 4%. lhe disc 45 runs between stationary annular plates ll which are yieldably secured on opposite sides of a ring is by means of spring clips The is pro vided with diametrically opposite trunnions 59 w ich are supported in v-slots 5i in a veke 52 and are secured against removal by spring clips 53. The yoke 52 is provided with a radially extending pin 54 which is journalled in a recess in a block 55 and is frictionaily secured by a ball 5? which is held against the pin 5 by means of a split cylindrical spring clip 53. The block 56 is secured by a screw 59 to an arm it which is carried by a slide 6!. The slide 6! is provided with inclined surfaces 62 which are slidably held in gibs 63 to permit axial adjustment. The slide 6! is secured in adjusted position by means of a clamping screw 54. The slide 6! is mounted for adjustment by means of an adjusting screw 85 which is threaded in a bracket 66 formed as a part of the lower bearing block l8 and is adjusted by a hand knob 67. A spring 08 holds the slide 6i against the end of the screw 65. The slide 6! also carries the housing 3! of the air turbine. The housing is secured to the arm as of the slide by set screws 10. Compressed air is supplied to the turbine through a duct 69.

In the operation of this device the splindle It is rotated by the compres ed air turbine in a manner which will be readily understood. The lubricant for the bearing surfaces !5 and 56 constitutes air which is compressed between the bearing surfaces !5 and IE5 and the bearing section I l of the sp ndle iii due solely to the relative rotation of the parts. The air is accordingly maintained at a pressure which is above that of t e surro nding atmos he e due solely to the rotation of the parts themselves.

As above pointed out, the clearance between the bearing surfaces l5 and IE and the bearing section M of the spindle is extremely small such as of the order of .0001 inch, hence any foreign particles which might be drawn in from the surrounding atmosphere would tend to interfere seriously with the operation of the spindle. In the construction disclosed, however, the spring mounting for the upper bearing block permits sufficient relative radial movement of this bearing block to permit any such particles to pass through and to relieve any excess pressures which would force the particles into the bearing surfaces. The elimination of the bearing surfaces axially along the parting line between the bearing blocks by channels 28 obviates the necessity of providing yieldable support for the bearing surfaces !5 and Hi along this diameter. Although bearing blocks made in two sections are entirely satisfactory for most uses, it is apparent that the bearing block may be made in three or more sections if necessary.

It has been found that with this construction, the operation is extremely stable. The rotation of the grinding disc is controlled accurately for precision grinding purposes inasmuch as the bearing clearance is so small that no appreciable side play can take place. It has been found that the device may be operated indefinitely at extremely high speed without developing more than a few degrees rise in temperature and in tests it has been found that if abrasive particles which are in the surrounding air are drawn into the bearing they pass freely through without injury thereto.

The thickness of the ring 48 is such that the clearance between the disc and the annular plates 4! is of the same order as that between the spindle and the bearing surfaces !5 and H3. The thrust bearing thus produced is lubricated by air which is compressed by rotation of the parts in the same manner as the cylindrical bearings above described. The thrust bearing thus positions the grinding wheel accurately in an axial direction.

It is noted that the spring clips 49 permit relative movement of the annular members 4'! comparable to the movement of the upper bearing block I! which is permitted by the springs 2!. Hence the thrust bearing is likewise prevented from being clogged or injured by the passage of fine particles therethrough. The thrust bearing is self-aligning due to the pivotal movement of the ring 38 about the trunnions 50 and the pivotal movement of the yoke 52 about the axis of the pin 54. The ring 48 and the plates 4'! are thus mounted for universal movement so that they are self-aligning with the disc 45.

Inasmuch as the bearing section !4 of the spindle I0 is longer than the bearing blocks l! and !8, the spindle may be axially adjusted by means of the adjusting screw 65 which positions the slide 6! carrying the housing 3! of the air turbine and the thrust bearing.

Although certain specific embodiments of the invention have been shown for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that the invention is capable of various uses and that changes and adaptations may be made therein as will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art. The invention is only to be restricted in accordance with the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A gas lubricated thrust bearing for a high speed rotary spindle comprising a disc mounted on said spindle, a spacing ring surrounding the disc, means independent of the disc supporting the ring radially spaced from the disc while permitting relative universal movement of the ring, a pair of annular plates slidably mounted on the spindle on opposite sides of the disc and ring, and spring means bearing on the outer faces of the plates and axially urging them toward the disc and ring while permitting movement of the plates to increase the normal spacing between the plates and disc in response to pressure developed therebetween.

2. A gas lubricated thrust bearing for a high speed rotary spindle comprising a disc mounted on said spindle, a, spacing ring surrounding the disc, means independent of the disc supporting the ring radially spaced from the disc, a pair of annular plates slidably mounted on the spindle on opposite sides of the disc and ring, spring means bearing on the outer faces of the plates and axially urging them toward the disc and ring UNITED STATES PATENTS- while permitting movement of the plates to in- Number Name Date crease the normal spacing between the plates and 1 476 345 McGee Dec 4 1923 disc in response to pressure developed therebetween, and pivotal supporting means universally 5 FOREIGN PATENTS mounting the ring with respect to the disc. Number Country Date JOSEPH A. RAWLINS. 462,602 Great Britain Mar. 11, 1937 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 10 file of this patent: 

